Transportation

Air Travel: Flying at night offers the opportunity to sleep on the plane and arrive at your destination with much of the day ahead of you. Seasoned travelers advise that you should not check into the hotel and take a nap. Their advice is to get out into the sunlight and to work on getting acclimated to the local time.

Leaving on very early flights home or between cities is often most economical. A major drawback is trying to get to the airport for a 7 AM flight. Many major cities do not have subway service or full bus service as early as you will need it. For example, you will need to be at the airport at 5 AM and may need to leave the hotel at 2:30 or 3 AM on a night bus. Night buses have long routes and there are not as many as in the day. Before you book an early flight, be sure you will have transportation to the airport.

Trains: Some systems allow you to book and receive your tickets at a U.S. address for a much more economical rate than if you bought tickets overseas. You can use the internet or call customer service to find out. Deutsche Bahnfor travel in Germany provides this service. In addition, they sometimes have sales on the American site.

Within City Transportation: You may be able to get a good rate by buying your tickets before you get to the city.For example, VisitBritain allows you to order passes for the London tube at a substantial savings. The tickets have to be bought in time to have them delivered to a U.S. address. There may be conditions such as no refunds, so plan carefully.

Other cities offer group savings or special savings that you can take advantage of when you get to the city. For example, in Berlin you can buy a Welcome package that has the transportation card and discounts to local attractions and restaurants. This covers travel on city buses, subways, and city trains for the number of days you paid. Other cities may offer group rider discounts. The per person ticket price is less for these passes, but the travelers have to travel together. It is important that students understand that they should always have a ticket for buses, subways, and city trains. Some cities (e.g., in Germany) do not have turn styles or ticket readers when you enter the subways and trains. However, if you are asked for a ticket while on the conveyance, you must have one or pay large fines.